The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) is organizing a National Housing Day of Action on Friday, November 18, 2016, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST.
Refer to: http://www.acto.ca/

Description
Food, water and shelter are some of the most fundamental human rights, yet Canada is facing an affordable housing and homelessness crisis. Everything begins with housing – without it, no one can truly live life with dignity.

The Canadian government has promised to fix the affordable housing crisis with Canada’s first ever National Housing Strategy. On November 22nd, they will announce what they have heard people across Canada say is needed in a National Housing Strategy. We are calling for the government to ensure our National Housing Strategy will guarantee everyone the right to safe, adequate, and affordable housing.

Make your voice heard. Together let’s make a commitment that we will hold the government accountable.

UPDATE – Please note that the Federation of Metro Tenants Association (FMTA) has launched the “Connecting Communities Tenant School”. The purpose of the tenant school is for ’empowering tenants through education and information of their legal rights as tenants’. The schools will be be held over a period of 2 years.

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You are invited to participate in the upcoming Taylor Massey Tenant School.

This event will take place September 11- October 16, 2012 at 10 Gower Street, Toronto, ON

The purpose of this event is to provide training and valuable information to tenants on how to deal effectively with various rental housing issues. You need to register to participate in the ‘tenant school’.

I’m back! Me, with the previous Sustainable Affordability and MISSING: National Housing policy in Federal Elections! contributions. This time I’m here with a suggestion: That tenants collectively approach Ottawa and Queen’s Park for financial help so that we, too, can do our part in saving or creating jobs during these tough times. After all, if GM and Chrysler, to name a few, can get help from Messrs. Harper and McGuinty, then why can’t we?

Think about it! If our respective governments are prepared to help bail out big companies that are poster boys for a capitalist society, then (more…)

Many tenants in Beaches-East York have relayed frustrating experiences with ‘problem landlords’ and property managers when requesting needed repairs to their apartment or when they complain about poor building maintenance. Unresolved complaints for outstanding repairs and building maintenance issues seem to be the bane of the existence of many tenants in the City of Toronto. Although your rental agreement clearly outlines the rights and responsibilities of both the tenant and the landlord, some landlords and property managers do not comply with the regulations set out in the “RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT”

Here is what tenants have been telling us:

Absence of tenant associations – The most common concern is the challenges faced when attempting to establish a tenants association in order to help tenants resolve complaints and violations. Tenants tell us landlords do not encourage this activity and that landlords remove any notices related to organizing tenants from the communal notice board. The security guards are also instructed to remove any pamphlets and flyers related to this activity. It was suggested that since the security guards remove these while doing their rounds between 4:00 pm and midnight the tenants should deliver the flyers either after midnight or around 6:00 am and that flyers should be inserted carefully so that they are not visible from outside the doors. The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 clearly states that: “It is an offence to try to prevent a tenant from forming a tenants’ association or taking part in one.”

Violations by landlords and property managers – Tenants are confused by the longwinded process in place to resolve offences and/or violations committed by landlords. They feel helpless about the delaying tactics used by landlords when needed repairs are requested. (more…)

Toronto’s Municipal Licensing and Standards Department’s proposed auditing strategy was voted in (with some amendments) on Monday (10 November) by the City’s Executive Committee over the criticism and objections of tenants and advocacy groups such as The Federation of Metropolitan Tenants’ Association, The Parkdale Tenants’ Association, ACORN, The South Etobicoke Tenants Association, and the Parkdale Community Legal Services – Tenant’s Advocacy Division who wanted stronger, more tenant-focused regulation.

The new strategy will go into effect on December 1st, 2008. You can read the full recommendation, that the City’s Executive Commitee reviewed, here.

More later on what the new programme may mean to you and what you can do to help ensure that it is implemented well.

So, today is the day that the Toronto’s Executive Committee will evaluate and vote on a proposal for a new Municipal Licensing and Standards strategy.

As noted in earlier posts, it looks as if they will approve an auditing plan proposed by the department.

From a tenant perspective (and examined in detail in earlier posts) this proposal is little more than a slightly enhanced version of the status quo.

In earlier posts, we mentioned a meeting that took place yesterday afternoon to show support for landlord licensing – the proposal initially being investigated by the City.

This meeting was well attended (with approximately 40 people present, albeit mostly members from the organizing group, ACORN) and drew a camera crew from Global TV and two newspaper reporters. Three city (more…)

Toronto city councillor, Howard Moscoe has done a complete about turn from his former support for landlord licensing (as weakened as his version was) in favor of an even weaker auditing plan put forth by head of the City’s Municipal Licensing and Standards Department, Jim Hart.

The new auditing plan will be the only fleshed-out proposal to go before the Mayor’s Executive Committee for a vote on Monday, November 10th and if passed, as is likely with no other real proposals on the table, would take effect on Dec. 1st.

According to The Toronto Sun, the auditing scheme would be ‘operated by a team of 12 MLS officers with a background in building audits — will proactively inspect 176 rental (private and social housing) buildings (more…)

On November 10th, landlord licensing comes up for evaluation before the City Council’s Executive Committee. The Council’s attention to the issue comes after years of hard work on the part of Toronto tenants, through grassroots groups like ACORN.

It is likely that the Committee will pass along a landlord licensing proposal, sponsored by one of the city’s longest serving councillors (Ward 15: Eglinton-Lawrence) and Licensing and Standards Comittee chair, Howard Moscoe to the larger Council.

You might think that this would bring us one step closer to better housing and so a cause for celebration. But things aren’t so simple.

While the bill supported by Moscoe would

– require all city landlords (including the City) to apply and pay for licenses

– subject properties to regular inspections similar to those performed on restaurants and food vendors, paid for by the license fees

– allow the City to levy fines against bad landlords

one very important provision, a City-controlled escrow account, is missing.

The escrow account provision would allow wronged tenants to pay their rent into a City-controlled account, instead of continuing to pay the negligent landlord. The collected funds could then be used by the City to fix the problems with the units/buildings.

By in effect, withholding profit from landlords who don’t take care of their properties, the escrow provision would act as a punishment (no fixes, no rental income), adeterrent (maintain the property or have your profits withheld) and a solution (if the landlord won’t pay then at least your rent will go to bettering your situation). Escrow accounts are a standard component of successful landlord licensing bills in other cities and would be a powerful tool in the fight for good housing here in Toronto.

So, why doesn’t the legislation proposed by Councillor Moscoe include an escrow account?

The red herring explanation we are being given is that Toronto City Council is not sure whether under the new City of Toronto Act they have the power to create an escrow programme.

This explanation is laughable.

1) There does not seem to have been any investigation by City lawyers into whether setting up an escrow program is legal or not and no negotiations with the Province on how to accomplish this crucial portion of the legislation otherwise, even though the council has been grappling with the concept of landlord licensing for months and months now.

2) Even if we accept that creating an escrow account may not be kosher, the City has seldom hesitated to test its limits. The precedent has been to act or refuse to act as the case may be and to deal with challenges if and when they come. So why the lack of resolve on this issue?

We are left to conclude that escrow account creation has been left out of the proposals being considered by the Committee because the councillors, even the ones who supposedly are on our side and support licensing landlords, simply don’t want to include it.

And why should they? By voting for (crippled) landlord licensing without an escrow component they win twice; seeming to be pro-tenant but also keeping landlords (who are big contributors) very happy.

It’s this kind of slippery dealing that is frustrating to tenants who have been following the issue.

While Howard Moscoe basks in the glow of his supposed support for us, we know that if the legislation he is championing is endorsed by the Committee and later passed by Council, that we will only get some of what we’ve been fighting for and that it may be near impossible to add the escrow programme to the provisions later.

What to do?

First, contact Mayor Miller and the councillors on the Executive Committee to let them know that you are in favor of landlord licensing with an escrow component. Let them feel the pressure. Click here for their contact info.

**The news media in addition to councillors who have shown themselves to be pro-tenant in the past and those on the Executive Committee have been invited. We will be asking the councillors to publicly pledge their support for landlord licensing that includes an escrow programme. The gathering is being organized by ACORN Toronto.

The meeting will take place on

Saturday, November 8th at 1PM at the Main Square Recreation Centre (scroll down for location details)

The turnout on the 8th has to be large to impress on the councillors that we care about real landlord licensing. So, please if you are a tenant (and even if you are not but are supportive) come out, bring your kids, your friends, your neighbours, everybody so that we can make our voices heard.

MEETING LOCATION:

(245 Main Street, south of Main Street subway station and Danforth, just behind the Main Square high rise buildings and before the bridge over the railroad tracks).